Deities & Demigods

All deities were either elevated to their positions by Ao (the overseer) or were approved by Ao to be worshiped in the Realms, in the case of interloper deities. No divine power found a permanent faith and power base without his approval, though there were cases of short-term semi-divine beings who gathered faith from worshipers without being deities. The most noted example of this was the various fiendish cults that had arisen. In at least two cases, the worship from these cults had provided enough power or filled a niche that was not otherwise filled, and the fiends in question had become deities in their own right. Both Gargauth and the minotaur deity Baphomet became deities by building on the power foundation of a fiendish cult.   Worshipers were necessary for the continued existence and powers of a deity. The numbers and fervor of a god's worshipers determined in large part the power of the deity. Deities without worshipers or who were fading in popularity faded in power, and in extreme cases could even die from neglect.